Iowa native Brett Moffitt returned to the NASCAR Xfinity Series this past weekend at his home track of Iowa Speedway — a track he believed NASCAR would never return to.
In what is so far just a one-off for Joe Gibbs Racing, Moffitt worked his way up from a 31st starting spot to inside the top 10 before he had an unscheduled pit stop that relegated him to an 18th-place finish. The 2015 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year is also competing for TRICON Garage in the Craftsman Truck Series, where he won the 2018 championship, this year on a part-time basis. He’s already run two races, finishing fifth at Kansas Speedway and 15th at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Moffitt cut back to a part-time schedule for 2024 after running full time for AM Racing last year and competing in the majority of the Xfinity schedule the past four years.
Frontstretch caught up with Moffitt prior to the Iowa race to talk about his decision to go part time this year, Iowa’s return to the schedule, his departure from AM and more.
Watch or read the interview below.
Michael Massie, Frontstretch: How did the deal with Joe Gibbs Racing come about to run for them at your home track?
Brett Moffitt: Honestly, it came about — we kind of sat down with our sponsors at the beginning of the year and asked them what they wanted to do and what they wanted to be a part of. Whether they wanted to do more races with less quality or less races with more quality. Ultimately, we decided on the quality choice.
We started there, and then we started a game plan of where the openings are going to be and what would be the best opportunity. And thankfully, this opportunity with JGR opened up.
Yeah, undoubtedly, it should be my best equipment I’ve ever had in the Xfinity Series. Hopefully, we can run up front and have a shot at the win.
Massie: The No. 19 car this year has been really fast but had a lot of bad luck. How do you reverse that luck?
Moffitt: We just need to go have a clean day. We need to be there at the end to have a shot at winning. Obviously, there’s a big question mark with the repave and how that’s gonna race. You gotta go into it with an open mind and be willing to learn and search around throughout the race.
One big help is Ty Gibbs qualifying second last week. That gives us a really good pit selection, which is huge. So yeah, we just gotta go execute.
Massie: You won at Iowa in Trucks and ARCA Menards Series East (K&N Pro Series East then). Do you consider this your best track in all of NASCAR?
Moffitt: Well, I always joke around. It’s now the best one they put back on the schedule. It seems like a lot of tracks I win at multiple times — Chicagoland was the same way, won two Truck races in a row there and then they take it off the schedule.
So I’m glad to see it come back on. I’ve always ran really good here, and I have a lot of extra motivation from the fans and family when I run here, so that’s a big plus.
Massie: We didn’t see Iowa Speedway on the schedule for a couple years. Did you think the ship had sailed on NASCAR being there?
Moffitt: For sure. I told my friends, I was like, ‘We ain’t ever coming back.’ Luckily, with the schedule switch-up over the last year, Iowa Speedway went to the top, and we’re back here — now even with a Cup race.
Massie: You’re doing a couple races for TRICON this year, ran a couple already. What is your first impression of that team compared to other Truck teams you’ve been with?
Moffitt: They’re top of the class, for sure, from top to bottom. To be able to run five trucks that competitively week in and week out is a major undertaking. So the job that the Gillilands, Toyota and the Grays have done to build that and be able to be repeatable is really incredible. It’s been a great experience all along. And yeah, hopefully, we can do some more with them.
Massie: In the rumors at the end of last year, it seemed AM Racing was gonna go to a second car with you and Hailie Deegan. Obviously, that didn’t work out. What didn’t work out there?
Moffitt: It’s financial, right? It’s a big undertaking to take on running a second car. They just didn’t feel like they were in a good enough position to do that.
Ultimately, both sides were optimistic, and it just didn’t work out.
Massie: The average finishing position for the AM car is nine spots worse this year. Does that validate your skill behind the wheel at all?
Moffitt: Well, I have a lot more experience than her [Deegan] in the Xfinity Series. I’ve been doing it for quite a while. I’ve worked a lot with A-level teams, and I’ve worked a lot with newer teams that are trying to become an A-level. So I kind of understand the undertaking and what I need to focus on.
So yeah, it validates my experience and my ability to drive a racecar, but a lot more than that goes into it.
Massie: From when you won Rookie of the Year in Cup, Front Row Motorsports is night and day different. You came back and won that Truck race for them last year. Back then in 2015, did you ever think that it had the possibility to become one of these mega teams that it seems like they’re turning into?
Moffitt: No, for sure. Bob Jenkins [owner] and Jerry Freeze [general manager] have done an outstanding job building the Truck program to be a championship contender every year and then building the Cup program to now be qualifying up front and continuing to race up front and race for wins.
That’s the hard part, right? Like anyone can hit it for one lap, but the fact that they’re legitimate contenders week in and week out is pretty cool to see.
Last year at Talladega, I actually told Bob that. I said, ‘That is really impressive what you’ve done.’ It seemed like a long time, but at the pace he’s grown it, he’s done it how he’s comfortable. He’s moved the program forward, and obviously now, there’s some rumors of them taking another big step forward. It’ll be cool to see.
Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020. Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.
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